And just to add another layer (even though this story already has more layers of "crazy" than a psychopathic onion) one of the guys from "The Big Lead" says he has two sources that can confirm ESPN has known about the story for ten days, but chose to sit on it.

I don't know that any of the stuff from this latest guy really exonerates him. Even if the girlfriend is made up by Tuiasosopo (as Deadspin already theorized) that doesn't really preclude the notion that Te'o knew about it and/or took part in it.

His own claims about having met her, talking to her on the phone and how devastated he was by her death are pretty damning. Big Lead says they talked to a teammate who figured a long time ago that he was lying but still blames the media for "blowing it up".

In order to claim that he's not a liar, he's gonna have to convince people that he's pretty stupid, so honestly it's kind of a no-win situation for him.

Gotta admit, I wonder how someone in today's media frenzied, everything recorded, planet internet, everybody's business online culture would really think they could get away with a lie like this being told on a national scale.

What I find kinda sad though is that for a long time, despite national level "sports journalists" involved, they did